Lane Kiffin praises tight end addition Caden Prieskorn, what he brings to offense

Ole Miss was not strong at the tight end spot last season. The team as a whole shifting to more of a ground-based attack on offense after losing Matt Corral and stumbling into a dynamite running back combo in true freshman Quinshon Judkins and TCU transfer Zach Evans, so the pass catching group simply had less work to do in 2022 as compared to the ’21 season. However, even with a less air-raid style of play, the Rebels top tight end barely cracked 150 yards on the year.

That player, Michael Trigg, a former USC Trojan, is back in the fold and he’ll surely improve. But the room needs a boost far beyond Trigg. So, during the December-January Transfer Portal window a few months ago, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin landed reinforcements at the TE spot. His prize catch is 6-foot-6 junior Caden Prieskorn from Memphis. He wasn’t too productive in his first two seasons with the Tigers, but in year three he popped to lead the team in receptions and receiving touchdowns — finishing with totals of 48 receptions, 602 yards and seven scores.

Next fall, he’ll wear an Ole Miss uniform, and that news has Coach Kiffin giddy. At a spring practice update this week, Kiffin was asked how he projects Prieskorn to contribute alongside Trigg in 2023. Here was the Rebel head coach’s answer:

“I think he’s a really kind of do-it-all consistent tight end. You know, when you watched him last year, very big frame, it seems like over time here we’ve kind of had more specialty tight ends. He’s a bigger frame probably, I guess, than anybody we’ve had. So, you know, that makes a difference in blocking at point of attack. And so we were excited to get him, to add him to our group. A very proven tight end that’s, you know, got NFL measurables and not necessarily like a receiver or a shorter blocker.”

Beyond just the sheer production Prieskorn put up, Kiffin fell in love with his physical tools. That combination of size and receiving talent is rare at that position in the college ranks. Kiffin’s hoping not only that he snagged a terrific receiver, but also a big-framed player who wall up as a sixth offensive lineman when the situation calls for blocking.

Sounds like Caden Prieskorn is so far developing exactly as Kiffin had hoped. And ideally, this veteran competition showing up will light a fire underneath Michael Trigg as well. Rebels looking to take a massive step forward at tight end between this year and last.

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